Patterns of Ideology and the Christian Church: Conception
Several months ago I had the opportunity to attend a conference at the First Christian Reform Church here in Calgary. I was looking forward to attending as Brian McLaren was going to speak on his new book ‘Everything Must Change: Jesus, Global Crises, and a Revolution of Hope’. Following the evenings events however, I found myself completely intrigued by the first speakers thought patterns and allegories to contemporary life.
Bob Goudzwaard is professor emeritus, at the Free University in Amsterdam. He was elected to the Dutch Parliament in the 1970′s and served for a time in a Christian policy research institute in The Hague. He is the author of numerous books including ‘Capitalism and Progress: A Diagnosis of Western Society’ and ‘Hope in Troubled Times: A New Vision for Confronting Global Crises’. It was the latter of these two books which I picked up that evening in the hopes of getting deeper into his thoughts and principles.
‘Hope in Troubled’ Times was a fascinating book into the needs and concerns for Global action and is packed full with conceptual pictures leading to rich and dynamic dialogues. That said, Bob Goudzwaard spends a great deal of time unpacking the patterns in which ideological practices have influenced the way we approach the many issues which confront human values and social constructs. Although not directly stating it in his writing, I could not help but make the connections of ideological patterns and the Christian Church.
Before delving into these thoughts though I think it should be appropriate for me to give a bit of a disclaimer. I am by no means an expert on ideologies or the history of the Christian Church. In honesty, I do not consider myself to be highly schooled or educated in these matters either. Many of these thoughts to which I share here are more rather an exploration of my own personal nature and relationship with the church and the desire to be authentic in the discipleship of Jesus and his followers. Please do not consider them authoritative by any measure!
With this in mind here are Bob Goudzwaard’s six elements to Ideology with my reflections to the Christian Church:
Conception
“The first phase of each full fledged modern ideology is conception. In the conception phase, the conviction develops that a radical change or intervention is required. Certain concepts and ideas demand different, perhaps more offensive, content. People begin to reflect on the end they wish to attain, and they weigh the strategic and tactical means needed for reaching the end. In the conception phase more and more people accept the idea that a specific concrete goal must be achieved at all costs…
“… Using the distortion of reigning norms and values, the ideology recruits disciples, and the critical moment arrives for potentially successful action. The highly charged, explosive moment for setting the ideology in motion has crystallized.”
It is hard to imagine the state of unrest which most Hebrew Israelites would have been experiencing several thousand years ago as Caesar and the Roman Empire brought “peace” to the world through there military occupation and rulership in Palestine. Seeing daily reminders of the cost to that peace through the crucifixion of thousands of their people would no doubt scream for social, political, and cultural reform. Most assuredly against Roman and Greek Hellenism.
It seems interesting that many of the conceptions of that reform took many different view points within Jewish beliefs and hopes. Despite the strong calling of worshiping one God the Pharisee’s believed a Messiah would come providing that social reform happened within the Jewish community itself to a state of perceived moral perfection. The Zealots wanted reform through the over throw of Roman occupation; typically through violent confrontation. While others, such as the Essenes chose to withdraw from society all together as they created social communities out in the dessert country side free from the influences of the outer world’s contact. I can imagine sitting in the living room floor or at the kitchen table of a first century Jewish home and listening to the debate along with any combination of these needs and desires for social revolt and reformation.
In my own thoughts I think of the groups today who similarly resemble these first century factions. Ideologically many in the Christian church today believe there is a need to return to a specific moral code. That code is often determined by a world view which pictures the past, particularly the 1950′s and 60′s as an ideal moral state for social progress. Ironically this seems similar to the Pharisee’s of the first century. Amish have tended to segregate themselves from the social world believing it to be corrupt and enslaved to consumerist patterns (perhaps in some ways being right) which also is similar to the Essenes.
In some ways I can’t help but wonder about the Missional and Emergent groups which in essence are also attempts to conceive a “Kingdom” or church which is culturally relevant and centered on God’s Missio Dei. My own draw is for this reform in a holistic pattern also. The missional stand point is for the need of the Christian church to find greater roots in the way Jesus first conceived the essence of God’s Kingdom here on earth and the way he found Lordship over the hearts and minds of those who would follow him.
Jesus’ conception of God’s Kingdom and the implications of its social, moral, political, and cultural reformations seem to be eternal in nature so as to be relevant in all spaces and time. With that in mind, how then do we protect missional and emerging practices of that kingdom from becoming ideological themselves or influenced by social, political, and/or cultural bias’s?
Soul Cravings and Confessions from a Mad Man (Warning: Could Be Raw)
O.K. I must first be brutally upfront here and say “No! This is not a book review to Erwin McManus’s new book.” It is however, an emotionally filled and psychotically driven rant to which I have in response to starting his new book ‘Soul Cravings’!
Erwin is so right when he talks in the opening intro about the deeper desires to which we have and the uncontrollable need to fulfill those desires. They are soul cravings that when left neglected begin to callus and blind us to the point that things around us begin to loose there meaning and become something which doesn’t seem real anymore. The pictures he drew of his personal story pulled me towards my own deeper emotional struggles which I have been feeling as of late. In some ways I suppose the “soul cravings” which drive the lunacy which I sometimes feel I am in.
Truth be told, I think I suffer with a kind of emotional depression. Yes, it is true that in most social settings I am highly relational and my positive demeanor is exceptionally extroverted with the hopes of inspiring and engaging anyone I might come into contact with. But… but, inside the real me the truth of the matter is a lot of the time I feel very much alone. As though the things I say… the things I write… the things I think and feel… they really don’t matter to anyone else. My significance is ultimately over shadowed by the gnawing feeling that if I ceased to exist tomorrow, my voice would not truly be missed and in a close proximity of time would maybe not even be remembered.
Please don’t get me wrong here. I’m not saying that I am without happiness and NOTHING is going to happen to me “tomorrow”. I am simply trying to authentically acknowledge this deeper need within me; this deeper “soul craving” which I have for a truly authentic and passionate community which honestly cares for all those who are a part of it. It’s an “Expression“ if you will of who I really am deep down inside.
Last Friday I sat with a friend in a local coffee shop and we chatted about the different values and experiences towards creating and experiencing Liminality and Communitas. Mike asked me, “Do we have to really give up the larger communities we are a part of to really experience the closeness of Communitas?” I knew he was talking about giving up his “Church” but I couldn’t help but reflect on my own situation and life as a parallel. I didn’t quit know how to answer his question. “Truth be told Mike,” I said, “I can’t honestly say either way. Most of my life has been spent in a sense of liminalty and there has been very few times where I actually felt any sense of Communitas between me and another person or group.”
Can this change? Can significance, purpose, passion, and authenticity really and truly exist within my life and community?
I suppose I’m not yet ready to answer that question. I suppose God can only answer it within his own time. Until then, I’m signing off to go prepare for a Birthday Party my wife and I are throwing for a few friends!
Identifying Marketing Strategies of Competition and the Incarnational Approaches of Expressions
As you may already know Expressions has been a long time dream for me and I have been spending a good deal of time focusing my energies on writing a business plan to implement hopefully within the next year. In truth, I am nervous as to my adequacy in carrying out this dream as much of my character is describable as ”highly relational” and business is not necessarily something I have been schooled in or have a lot of experience in.
With this in mind I would like to share a portion of Expressions Marketing Strategy with you in the hopes you will offer comments and critique it’s positive and negative projections. I have offered links within it as to ideas and principles which I have borrowed from others as well as incorporated from my own philosophies and beliefs. Please keep in mind that this is in my eyes not just a business but a ministry also in the hopes of bringing a relevant and living gospel to the southeast communities of Calgary.
MARKETING STRATEGY – DESCRIPTION OF KEY COMPETITORS
The major coffee shop providers for the south east quadrant of Calgary are predominantly the franchised or corporate movements of Starbucks, Tim Horton’s, or Second Cup. Their locations are usually targeted to high traffic shopping locations found both on 130th Avenue and the Douglas Glen shopping mall. Auburn Bay is a developing community and with the hospital and surrounding industrial complex, Expressions does anticipate one or more of them to be a competing factor.
These competitors predominantly focus their marketing through three streams. They are Visual Presence, Convenience, and Fast Service. Visual presence targets customers through the simplicity of publicizing the marketed logo in accessible visual avenues located within close proximity to the store itself. Convenience offers the customer quick access to a product which is dependably similar to the other locations considered associates of the franchise or corporation. Finally, fast service provides the customer with the product in a quick fashion ideally through either the provided store front or a drive through window at a cheep price.
With the projection of most reports in customer growth, Tim Horton’s is expected to continue to grow in demand with the major focus being on convenience. Although offering a number of products their main drawing point and focus is on the sale of coffee. Other products include baked goods, snack products, and home style lunches. Due to franchise partnerships and the demands created by them their products have diversified greatly and in appearance it seems they will continue to develop into more of a restaurant then a coffee house focused on community development.
MARKETING STRATEGY – ANALYSIS OF COMPETITIVE POSITION
Expressions intends to use an (i)ncarnational model of marketing both in product services and community development. By this Expressions means to focus on four avenues to connecting with customers and the local community. They are Presence, Proximity, Powerlessness, and Proclamation.
The practice of Presence is in some ways similar to that of the competition in that it uses the marketing logo image in strategic avenues of visual accessibility to draw the customers in. However, Expressions presence can also be visualized through community involvements such as participating with other social gatherings which are externally located from its central location. Through the sale of coffee mugs the marketed presence can also be brought into the home. Other avenues of presence can come through the visual invitation of mail outs, posters, and local news letter postings, giving advertising to Expressions community events along with product offerings.
Proximity becomes Expressions desire to enter the lives of the local people where they currently are involved and create a gravitational connection to those movements and that of Expressions. By that we mean to shape our involvements around the needs and cultural placements of local practices. Coffee Products and small baked goods/snacks will be offered according to the tastes of the customers. Likewise, Expressions community involvements both internal and external will be highly influenced by the customers social needs, dreams, passions, and social involvements. In many ways the practice of proximity is unique to Expressions compared with its competition as the intent is to serve the customer holistically rather then the products.
The element of powerlessness is intended to again focus on the needs and service to the customer through relational contact. We would like Expressions, its environmental spaces, and community groups to be open and usable by all regardless to the buying of products, beliefs, or social positions. Expressions does not wish to put parameters on anyone who is entering the store front and instead intends to build relational fronts first while then exposing them to the benefits of products and community involvements. In essence, Expressions is placing the power into the hands of the customer while remaining powerless in its self propagating agendas holding faith to the customer bringing sustainability to its developments.
Finally proclamation brings voice to the growth and developments of the Expressions movement. Following the establishment of a physical presence, creating a gravitational proximity to the local community and customers, and remaining open and inviting through states of powerlessness; Expressions can pursue marketing through the practice of proclamation. By nature as customers encounter the benefits and find good value in Expressions products and social involvements they will then tell others about its services and community. This can happen not only through invitation but also through the witnessing of local social activist groups which are involved with Expressions.
What’s Eating You?
This afternoon I walked… opps!… wheeled into my good friend and chiropractor’s office and was blown away by an article which he had written and handed to me. Jeff’s faith and devotion to God, his family, and his patients are always an inspiration to me which is why I asked if he would share his story with Expressions next month.
All that said, I thought I would give a short taste into that faith by sharing this weeks message from The Good Doctor:
We all know that what you eat has a direct impact on your health. It is true that you are what you eat! The food that is made by God (fresh whole food in its original form) is what we were meant to eat. The processed, refined, chemical-laden food that is made by man will actually cause illness and disease. Unfortunately, we in North America, are over-fed (we get plenty of calories) BUT extremely under-nourished (processed food lacks the nutrients needed for good health). This is one reason why we are getting sicker and sicker as a society.
But the fact of the matter is that, when it comes to a healthy lifestyle, what you are eating is less important than WHAT’S EATING YOU! That is, how much stress you have in your life has an enormous affect on your health. Stress can literally kill you. If you are under a lot of stress, your body tends to shut down its healing and restorative abilities just so that it can cope with the stress. Let me explain. When an animal is faced with a stressful situation or a stressor (a deer comes face to face with a cougar), it reacts in a very predictable manner. Its blood pressure rises pushing the blood away from the internal organs and towards the peripheral limb muscles. These help the animal move fast and have the power necessary to either fight or flee. This is why the stress response is called the fight or flight response. Less blood to the organs means that digestion, detoxification, and normal organ activity stops, immune organs are less efficient, and healing is almost non-existent. For the moment, this response can save the animals life. But as soon as the stressor is gone (i.e. the cougar leaves), the deer quickly returns to a normal state and its body resumes normal function and healing.
We too have this fight or flight response. Any time that we are stressed or worry about something, the same exact reactions take place in our body. Our blood pressure rises, blood flows away from our organs, our immune system slows, digestion stops, and normal organ function stops (to name a few). So you get into your car to go to work and…it won’t start! You have an important meeting to get to and you only have 15 minutes to get there. STRESS!!! Enter fight or flight response. You manage to catch a ride to work with your neighbor and arrive at the meeting a half hour late. Your boss is not happy. STRESS!!! Now in the animal world, when the stressor is gone (your car is fixed and your meeting is over), your body should resume normal function. But humans tend to “hold on to” their stress; we worry. We have big brains that can remember and rehash stressful situations. And as soon as we rehash the stressor in our mind, our body reacts as if it is the real thing. The result is that most of us are in a constant state of fight or flight! Our digestion, our healing, our normal organ function are affected on a massive scale. Blood pressure is through the roof, immunity is low, digestion is slow and painful, sleep is interrupted, irritability is common, and we tend to store energy in the form of fat (stress makes you fat)! No wonder there are so many sick and depressed people (it is estimated that 1/3 of North American adults are on antidepressants).
So the question is: WHAT’S EATING YOU? More importantly, how are you dealing with it? Chiropractic will absolutely help you deal with your stress better by allowing the nerve system (the system that was designed to help you manage stress in your body) to function properly. Chiropractic will also allow your organs to function more effectively. However, we must all make an effort to create more peace in our lives. Set your priorities; take control of your time; spend time with loved ones; do what you love and love what you do. It is not always how much stress we have but how we react to the stress that leads to ill health. A very wise man once said:
“…do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” – Matthew 6:25-27
So less worry and more peace, Dr. Jeff
40 Years Ago Today
For many years I have found great inspiration to the life and words of Martin Luther King. Today my friend Steve posted his reflections to the events of April 4th, 1968 and I thought that I would share them here also:
Last night I watched Citizen King, a documentary on Martin Luther King Jr. 40 years ago today at 6:10 PM he was shot and killed in Memphis. Here is how Wikipedia describes the events,
King was booked in room 306 at the Lorraine Motel, owned by Walter Bailey, in Memphis. The Reverend Ralph Abernathy, King’s close friend and colleague who was present at the assassination, swore under oath to the HSCA that King and his entourage stayed at room 306 at the Lorraine Motel so often it was known as the ‘King-Abernathy suite.’ While King was standing on the motel’s 2nd floor balcony, James Earl Ray shot him at 6:01 p.m. April 4, 1968. The bullet entered through his right cheek smashing his jaw and then traveling down his spinal cord before lodging in his shoulder. According to biographer Taylor Branch, King’s last words on the balcony were to musician Ben Branch (no relation to Taylor Branch) who was scheduled to perform that night at an event King was attending: “Ben, make sure you play Take My Hand, Precious Lord in the meeting tonight. Play it real pretty.” Abernathy was inside the motel room heard the shot and ran to the balcony to find King on the floor. Local Rev. Samuel “Billy” Kyles, whose house King was on his way to visit, remembers that upon seeing King go down he ran into a hotel room to call an ambulance. Nobody was on the switchboard, so Kyles ran back out and yelled to the police to get one on their radios. It was later revealed that the hotel switchboard operator, upon seeing King shot, had had a fatal heart attack and could not operate the phones. King was pronounced dead at St. Joseph’s Hospital at 7:05 p.m. The assassination led to a nationwide wave of riots in more than 100 cities.
As part of the documentary they showed a troubled, sick and stressed out man delivering his final speech. I got shivers listening to him speak these words the night before he was murdered:
“I left Atlanta this morning, and as we got started on the plane, there were six of us, the pilot said over the public address system, “We are sorry for the delay, but we have Dr. Martin Luther King on the plane. And to be sure that all of the bags were checked, and to be sure that nothing would be wrong with the plane, we had to check out everything carefully. And we’ve had the plane protected and guarded all night.”
And then I got into Memphis. And some began to say that threats, or talk about the threats that were out. What would happen to me from some of our sick white brothers?
Well, I don’t know what will happen now. We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn’t matter with me now. Because I’ve been to the mountaintop. And I don’t mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over. And I’ve seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people will get to the promised land. And I’m happy, tonight. I’m not worried about anything. I’m not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.”
Sojourners has some reflections on his life as well as an opportunity to encourage major news networks to focus on his legacy rather than demean the prophetic tradition of the black church. I signed up.
Thoughts of Rebirth from the Tree of Life
I used to spend my summers out in Cilliwack with my grandfather. Actually, he was the caretaker for the local girl guides camp and what teenage boy could refuse going out and helping his grandfather in such an adventurous endeavor but to look after those who would stay in such beautiful places!!
I can remember many times heading into Vancouver and hanging out in Stanley Park with my uncles and grandfather after a day in the fish markets. These are memories which will always stay with me for the rest of my life. One of these memories is climbing around and inside this hollow old tree! I still remember what blew my mind the most was to fathom that this tree actually was just a little seedling trying to grow on the shores of BC during the time that Jesus walked the earth!!! Did you know that?
Recently the provincial authorities have been discussing the need to bring the tree down. It’s not that they do not recognize its beauty or the many that have personal memories of great significance which are centered around this tree. It simply is becoming too dangerous for it to remain in such a public position. It has saddened many in the communityto see this and some have attempted to petition the government to maintain the tree as a national landmark.
When things die, it is a time for mourning and emotions always take us back to the memories of old. The sad state to this tree’s standing is not so much the case of BC’s government not being willing to spend the funds necessary to brace it. Truth is, it is already being held by a number of guide lines and support structures which the parks department has put in place. The sadness comes when we reflect on the community’s unwillingness to find the beauty in God’s plan for natural creative rebirth within nature!
Metaphorically I have heard many pastors reflect on the hollow nature of this tree as being reflective to the dangers of the individual following Jesus with an outer appearance at the neglect of a truthful heart. But, what does this look like in the sense of community and corporate placements? What does the metaphor look like when considering the gathering of the church?
I think in some senses it is dangerous to consider the ideologically accepted norm to be eternally sustainable. Beauty IS what is in the heart – the memories, the community and social movements, the moment (space & time) – in the truest sense… the SPIRIT! That is something that cannot be replaced however nor is it something which can be eternally prolonged. Things change and social dynamics die.
We have something else though to fall back on which is promised through Jesus. “For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Matt. 16:25). We have the promise of rebirth. We have the promise of… Resurrection!!!
What are some of the resurrection stories or metaphors to which you have in your life?
Expressions
A Million Miles in a Thousand Years By Donald Miller
Eternity in Their Hearts By Don Richardson
Follow Me to Freedom By Shane Claiborne & John Perkins
Journey to Significance By Neil Cole
Organic Leadership By Niel Cole
Forge Canada
Friend of Missional
Missional Apologetics
The Missional Network
Verge Network
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